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Wow...that is good! I think I am spending way too much money! I am giving her more than two quarters a day and buying at the supermarket. I have to get under control...I don't even know how much I am spending. I think today I spent $25 and that will only last for about five days.

I had to learn how to shop for the food, too. I check the ads for 4 local markets, and the mexican market has the best prices, typically.

A couple of months ago, someone advertised on Craig's List that they were cleaning out their deep freezer and wanted to offer the freezer burned meat to anyone who wanted it. I collected it the next day... over 20 pounds of beef steaks and roasts. With 2 small dogs to feed, that lasted me a good long time, and it was free!

Call me crazy, but I like to know the source of the meat I and my dog consume. I don't purchase things from supermarkets that have non grass-fed, natural meat for myself and I surely won't do it for my dog. We have a local grass-fed butcher at the local farmer's market. We call him during the week and pick our stuff up at the market. Yea, it's pricier, but at least I know he's not ingesting hormones/antibiotics with his dinner. And it's actually not pricier than the premium kibble he was on, so it all works out. I think everyone should watch Food, Inc and read In Defense of Food. It will change the way you eat and shop!

We are getting a 20# Bichon mix and considering going RAW for her. I stopped by my local butcher and he offered to collect bones/small pieces that he get when he cleans and prepares the meat. He will give me a sample tomorrow to show what he is talking about. We haven't talked price yet but I think I will get about 10lbs of bones/liver/meat from him and another 10lbs of chicken meat from grocery and fed her a mix.

We are getting a 20# Bichon mix and considering going RAW for her. I stopped by my local butcher and he offered to collect bones/small pieces that he get when he cleans and prepares the meat. He will give me a sample tomorrow to show what he is talking about. We haven't talked price yet but I think I will get about 10lbs of bones/liver/meat from him and another 10lbs of chicken meat from grocery and fed her a mix.

Start off with only one meat... or you'll have cannonbutt on your hands. Start off with chicken only for a couple of weeks, and see she works out on that.

OMG, I HATE Slanker's. I have filed a BBB complaint against them. They sound good on paper, don't they? Stay far, far away from that company. I truly hope they go out of business because what they are doing is misleading consumers. It's not really grass-fed, just so you know! PM me if you want info, we mistakenly ordered from them in the past.

OK, here is another update: My GSD seems to be doing great with meat and meaty bones from the super. However, today I went to a pet store and I mentioned I have switched to raw to the owner. I do like her and she has fair prices so not sure what to think. She proceeded to tell me that feeding raw food for the supermarket is bad for dogs because the meat is dirty and has hormones in it (I thought chicken is not supposed to have hormones). She said I should cook the meat or give her Bravo, which she carries. Honestly, I don't see my dog doing bad and wonder if she is just trying to make a sale. I would like to give the best to my little princess but the cost of free range meat in the Northeast is prohibitive. I did find a place that can ship me free range meaty bones from NY @2.00 a pound. Maybe I should cook the meat and only give her free range raw bones? Or wash the super meat with lemon as best as I can? Any thoughts?
Thank you

Chicken, by law, does not have antibiotics or hormones. When you see chicken at a regular supermarket advertised as being hormone-free, it's a gimmick and they raise the price. You can get chicken for a really good price, especially in bulk.

Beef is loaded with hormones and I personally don't feed my dog the stuff from a regular supermarket. I buy grass-fed from a local butcher, for the dogs and humans in the household. That said, I'm willing to bet anything that 80% of the American population eats meat purchased from the regular supermarket. They also feed their kids that, without thinking twice. The kibble on the shelf of your local pet store is more likely to harbor bacteria and salmonella than any of the meat at the market. If I had to choose between buying meat (beef included) at the regular supermarket and feeding raw and buying dog pellets aka kibble, I'd choose the raw meat.

Do not feed prepackaged raw. It's a huge gimmick and not a true diet. It's basically mush, with unnecessary ingredients. I'm sure this link was posted somewhere in this thread, but here are reasons not to feed pre-made raw. And you cannot guarantee the source of this ground up mush. I am willing to bet anything that Bravo, Stella and Chewy's, Nature's Variety, etc. does not use grass-fed meat in the products. In fact, I know that's not the case because it would be cost prohibitive. So, if you buy Bravo, you'll still be getting hormones, they'll just be mushed up now. I'm not sure how much your dog(s) weigh, but prepackaged can get very expensive, very fast.

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